Around the Bluhmin' Town: Fewer bites, ounces, slices and gulps

That’s right, dear readers; the research has been done, and the evidence is in. We are paying the same or more for less.

It is the saga of the incredible shrinking packages, and ounce by ounce, inch by inch, we are being robbed! Wondering why the toilet paper rolls look smaller? That’s because they are! As much as 6 percent less tissue, and the rolls are 3/8 of an inch smaller. This situation stinks!

Oh and paper towels have fewer sheets; the average box of tissue has about five to 10 less tissues, and just about every, single paper product is packaged so we, the paying public, are getting less.

Ever notice that a bag of potato chips seems like it is filled with air? Oh yea, Lay’s says we can’t eat just one, but they are giving us an ounce less in the bag, which means we better eat just one! We are being robbed one chip at a time! Bars of soap that used to be solid rectangles are now curved, so we pay the same for less soap! Oh, and notice how skinny our cereal boxes have become?

Holy guacamole! The trickery never ends. A common brand of guacamole now has domed the package upwards, so it looks bigger. Lies! It’s actually smaller, and the clever packaging is supposed to fool us, the unsuspecting consumer. I guess the packaging industry paid close attention to the airlines. They’ve been watching the seats being removed to make for more rows while passengers are squeezed into tight, little suffocating spaces.

A mother of three emailed me to say she packs 15 lunches a week. She noticed that Kraft American cheese slices are now 22 in a package instead of 24. Yikes, this doesn’t sound very “American” to me.

Why must this entire “shrinking packaging” phenomena be done on the sly? What happened to brands that you could trust? Oh, and if you are reading this while drinking a glass of orange juice, check out the container. What used to be 64 ounces is now 60 ounces.

This disturbing trend is so depressing (to our pocketbooks), it makes me want to eat a cookie. But since Keebler cookies have “downsized” from 14.5 ounce packages to 11.3 ounces, I better grab something more healthy and less expensive, like yogurt. But wait, isn’t Chobani Greek yogurt now in smaller little cups? Yes, a twelve percent decrease in volume has been reported. In other words, we are into global shrinking product sizes and we better get used to it.

Have you noticed that the usual 5-pound bag of sugar is now a 4-pound bag? And if you want a Ritz cracker, chew slowly, because there are fewer crackers in the box. Yikes, we are being ripped off one bite, one ounce, one chip, one slice and one gulp at a time! Well, I guess we better not cry about it. After all, there are fewer tissues in the box.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and local Realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.